2018

BAKER HUGHES A GE - The worldwide rig count for May 2018 was 2,096, up 9 from the 2,087 counted in April 2018, and up 161 from the 1,935 counted in May 2017.

WNN - Tokamak Energy announced today that it has achieved plasma temperatures of over 15 million degrees Celsius, hotter than the centre of the Sun. The Oxford, England-based company turned on its ST40 reactor for the first time in April 2017.

REUTERS - Brent crude LCOc1 rose 78 cents to $76.16 a barrel by 0645 GMT after dropping to its lowest since May 8 on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 33 cents at $65.85 a barrel, having touched a near two-month low on Tuesday.

REUTERS - “We have to look into the situation which has panned out on the market today, from the point of view of the volume cuts, inventories decline, shortages on the market, and to adjust the figures,” Novak told reporters.

PLATTS - Russia's largest crude oil producer, Rosneft, is in a position to add 100,000 b/d to production in a few days if the conditions of the OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal are eased, analysts at Aton said in a research note released following meetings with Rosneft officials.

FT - “In my opinion, the stability of Russian production was underestimated by the market,” said Igor Sechin, chief executive of Rosneft, the country’s top oil producer. “In general, the Russian oil sector investments in rouble equivalent under the crisis conditions were increasing, and so did the production.” 

ГАЗПРОМ - Председатель Правления ПАО «Газпром» Алексей Миллер и Председатель Правления OMV AG Райнер Зеле подписали Соглашение о продлении действующего контракта между ООО «Газпром экспорт» и OMV Gas Marketing & Trading GmbH на поставку российского природного газа в Австрию до 2040 года. Ранее контракт действовал до 2028 года.

BLOOMBERG - By most metrics, the embargo that closed Qatar off from major air, sea, and land links has failed. The country’s imports and exports are up, according to the International Monetary Fund. Qatar, the world’s richest country per capita thanks to massive reserves of natural gas, is on track to post a budget surplus in 2018. Its economy is growing faster than most of its peers.

BLOOMBERG - Gross domestic product advanced 1 percent from the prior quarter, with overseas shipments accounting for half the expansion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 0.9 percent gain. The economy expanded at an annual pace of 3.1 percent, also beating estimates for a 2.8 percent increase.

REPSOL - Between 2018 and 2020, Repsol plans to invest 15 billion euros: 53% in its Upstream unit (Exploration and Production) and 45% in Downstream (Refining, Chemicals, Marketing, Lubricants, Trading, LPG, Gas & Power) and low-emissions assets.